Is Philadelphia a good place to live for someone in their 20s?

Philadelphia has good public transportation, known as Septa, check them out at http://www.septa.org/ As far as being 20 in Philadelphia, depends upon your life-style. There are bars and cute shops in Manayunk, Roxborogh and East Falls are right around the corner from there. These areas are lower in crime than some of the other areas of the city. Your best bet maybe to contact a real estate agent.

In contrast to the other answer. I think Philly has a pretty good transit system. I would recommend 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th,& Pine or Sansom St. Yes, there are neighborhoods to avoid. There are also plenty of high rise bldgs. near the train station. 22nd, 23rd, 24th Streets and Market or JFK. Get a newspaper, check the rentals, you'll know when you see prices where you should be living.

yes,there is diverse culture there,a good public transportation system,and great night life. i think it is perfect for someone in their 20's.

Wow...I have the opposite feeling from the first lady. As far as public transit goes, there definitely seem to be some shortcomings, but I don't think you'd REALLY have the chance to notice them unless you were doing a commute in from the 'burbs and had 3 transfers to rely on. It could obviously be improved upon, but they're working on it...just, slowly. I do know that they've spent some considerable coin in bringing in new low, and even zero-emission buses, new train cars for the subways as well as the regional lines (to the 'burbs), an extension to the R3 Regional line and they're cleaning and up-fitting most of the subway stops. Philly is also small enough that if you can't get there by a train or a bus, it's just a cheap cab ride to get to where you need to be. It's also working on becoming more bike friendly, plus, we have Philly Car Share and Zipcar, and I think they're even going to extend THAT to bicycles (which would be rad). We're also smack in the middle of some of the biggest rail hubs in the country along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, so it's really easy to get visiting friends in NYC, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, etc....everything runs right through 30th Street Station, Amtrak and SEPTA. As far as Center City life goes, I think that person blew up how safe Philly is (or better, how UNsafe they think it is). It's a city, and you know that there's always going to be an element out there that's going to give the rest of the city a bad name. You do always need to "keep your head on a swivel", but it's not like people are getting thumped and mugged every 5 minutes. If you live in a city now, you know how stupid it can be to not know your surroundings, and the same applies here. Don't be walking around with your iPod on maximum volume while fanning yourself with $20 bills in the middle of the night alone, and you should be fine. Northern Liberties is a nice community for your age (I'm pretty close), but it's almost like it's growing too fast and went from an area gentrifying to a little yuppy-ish. It used to be considered the HOOD, but it's nice around there now and they're getting the most new restaurants, bars and boutiques. Fishtown just to the north is a little more realistic in it's gentrification, in that it's a blue-collar, family neighborhood that's accepted some younger people without abandoning it's entire former-self. They have some great bars out there and the people are dynamite, even if they are a little toothless at times. I love them though. I think you'll find a lot of the same in South Philly too. Old City, Rittenhouse and Walnut Street are what I think of when people think of Center City living, even though Center City is small enough that everything I've mentioned could be considered such (and I've walked all from Fishtown to University City). That will be the most expensive in terms of rents, but you're smack in the middle of the city. After some city living of my own, I like the cusp of the city more than the middle of it, especially since like I said before, it's a much smaller city than NYC for example, where I'd imagine the "cusp" of city life is not walking distance to the downtown. Fairmount and the Art Museum area is another one I love and have lived in. It's literally about 10 blocks north of City Hall and just a few East of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Kelly Drive. It's a nice, clean area with a lot of nightlife, but like BYO and gastropub nightlife, not club/nudey-bar nightlife. It's also a great area to walk around in, and I find the people there to be friendly, though not as warm as Fishtown. I think Fairmounters are more or less transplants, whereas Fishtowners are lifers, therefore closer to each other. I saw someone mention Manayunk, which while it is nice and it does cater to your age bracket, it's kind of an island. To get into the city, you need to take I-76 or one of the Regional Rail lines. You can count on I-76 ALWAYS being delayed...literally, ALWAYS. I would never go west of Philly unless I had a job out there and ZERO reason to come East through Philly...the commute is just that much of a pain. I know more people are commuting via rail, but it still hasn't solved the issues with that roadway. Anyway, Manayunk/Roxborough seems like a place that you could see 3 times within a month. It just seems small and lame to me...but that's me and I'm a nobody on the Internet bored at work, so you may think otherwise after a visit. I think you should be fine with your budget, but I wouldn't start looking in the Rittenhouse area, or other areas I mentioned in that same vein. I think you'll be OK in the Art Museum Area (Fairmount) and Northern Liberties, definitely OK in Fishtown and out west in Manayunk. You'd probably be fine in University City, but in all honesty, I have no love for that part of the City after living there for 8 years. It is home to UPenn and Drexel, so there are some people around,

I do not like Philadelphia. The public trans is horrid, but there are many lines that should get you where you want to go. It is not reliable, it is frequent enough in some areas but most of the time they are late or early and they will not generally stop and wait if YOU are late and running, even if they see you. I don't know about SF but Philly is a ghetto, do not expect to be treated with any amount of respect. There are nice people in the better neighborhoods but everyone is leaving Philadelphia because the decline of the neighborhoods as well as of the people is too much to bear. Not to burst any bubbles or upset you, but as fair warning. You should definately steer clear of the entire central area of Philly. You may find comfort in South Philly, but should find the most comfort in Northeast Philly or the greater Northeast (neither to be confused with North Philly). Rent for a good house runs between about $900 and $1200 right now. Rent for an apartment runs about $650 to $1000, it really depends on the area but if you look good enough you can always happen onto a good deal. Center City apartments are very expensive. There is a mix of people there, you may pass millionaires on the street you WILL absolutely pass homeless people, there is an abundance of both as well as everyone in between. On the other hand, perhaps Philly is exactly what you are looking for. However, I wish you would have spent some considerable time here before deciding to move permanently.